Europe Coalition to Defend on Missiles 07/14 06:19

   

   PARIS (AP) -- Ukraine and nine other countries announced Monday they were 
forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilizing Kyiv's 
experience in fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for over four years.

   "Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for 
Europe," the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian 
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

   He was asking two dozen leaders for help in developing measures against 
Russia's missile attacks that have pummeled his country and made the rest of 
Europe wary of Moscow's wider ambitions on the continent.

   Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the 
Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognized 
"the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles," which are harder to stop than 
cruise missiles or drones.

   "We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the 
form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralize 
future missile threats," the statement said. "We recognize Ukraine's unique 
experience, gained through its defense against the war of aggression waged by 
Russia."

   The statement gave no time frame for setting up the defense system and said 
the plan remained open to other countries.

   Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, 
jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system with missiles that would let 
Europe supply itself with new antiballistic capability and provide it to others 
around the world who need protection.

   Putin shows no sign Russia is backing down

   Russian President Vladimir Putin was unyielding, vowing Monday emphatic 
retaliation to Kyiv's recent long-range attacks on refineries, tankers and 
terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages.

   "Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, 
but our strikes will be several times more powerful," Putin told a meeting with 
pro-Kremlin activists.

   European foreign ministers were meeting separately in Brussels where they 
discussed Ukraine's needs and Russia's threats to the continent.

   Zelenskyy is keen to accelerate efforts with European countries to develop 
its air defenses ahead of winter, when Russia usually intensifies its attacks 
to deny Ukrainians electricity, heat and water.

   Ukrainian officials were in Paris to present a proposed Anti-Ballistic 
Program and meet with government leaders, national security advisers and 
defense companies who might take part, Zelenskyy said.

   U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge last week to give Ukraine a license to 
produce Patriot air defense systems to counter the ballistic missiles could 
mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv. However, experts and Ukrainian officials 
warn that turning the idea into reality would probably take years. It was 
unclear how quickly a European system could be built.

   Ukraine wants to push Putin into negotiations

   Kyiv and its European backers want to press home Ukraine's recent successes 
and compel Putin to negotiate an end to the fighting, although Moscow has shown 
no willingness to compromise despite peace efforts by the Trump administration.

   Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will closely follow the Paris 
meeting but dismissed its aspirations.

   "This is a coalition of warmongers," Peskov said. "They are driven by the 
profound delusion that it's possible to inflict a strategic defeat on our 
country, so this is a coalition of the deluded, a coalition of those who incite 
the war."

   Ukraine's advances in drone technology have given it an edge recently, 
analysts and Western officials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind the 
front have robbed the Russian army of momentum and made its progress slow and 
costly, they say.

   Ukraine says it hit 105 Russian vessels in 8 days

   Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the 
Crimean Peninsula between July 6-13, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's 
Unmanned Systems Forces.

   The vessels included tankers, dry cargo ships, a ferry and tugboats, Brovdi 
said on the Telegram messaging app.

   The campaign is part of a broader Ukrainian effort to isolate the Crimean 
Peninsula, which is enduring its worst fuel crisis since it was illegally 
annexed by Moscow in 2014, and disrupt Russian logistics. Crimea is a key rear 
base for Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine.

   It was not possible to independently verify the claims, and Russian 
officials made no immediate comment.

   European leaders demonstrate their commitment to Kyiv

   The Paris meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which brings 
together more than 30 countries and about 25 heads of state and government, 
appeared to be a demonstration of a long-term commitment to Ukraine and a 
warning to Russia, as Moscow tests Europe's resilience.

   Zelenskyy's trip to the French capital followed the death of U.S. Sen. 
Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters in Washington. Lawmaker 
Oleksandr Merezhko called Graham "the closest link between Ukraine, our 
president and Trump."

   The trip also comes amid a major reshuffle of Zelenskyy's government that 
saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko step down Sunday.

   French Foreign Minister Jean-Nol Barrot said he would summon the Russian 
ambassador to France and impose sanctions against Russian hackers. He told 
BFMTV-RMC that the issue is about "a vast cyber campaign aimed at sabotage and 
espionage, carried out by Russia in about 10 European countries."

   Ukraine's neighbors have also felt the war's impact.

   In the latest incident, a drone launched during Russian overnight attacks on 
Ukraine's Odesa region crashed and exploded on Moldova's territory, Moldova's 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday. It said the incident was "serious and 
unacceptable."

   Ukraine fires over 300 drones toward Moscow

   Ukraine has aimed at targets deep inside Russia with its domestically 
developed long-range drones and missiles.

   Russian air defenses downed 350 Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow since 
late Sunday, including 50 near the capital, the capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin 
said.

   Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 81 Ukrainian drones were downed 
overnight, adding that three people were killed and three were injured by the 
attack in the Pionersky settlement in the western part of the Moscow region.

   The Ukrainian air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 134 long-range 
strike drones and three guided aviation missiles at Ukraine.

   A strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region set fire to a 
docked merchant vessel carrying fertilizer under the flag of Togo, killing five 
crew members and wounding 10, said regional military administration head Oleh 
Kiper.

   Russia says it thwarted a major Ukraine drone operation

   Russia's Federal Security Service said it had thwarted a Ukrainian plan for 
a drone attack on the Ukrainka air base in the far eastern Amur region and the 
Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals.

   Small drones were smuggled into Russia's Bryansk region using air balloons 
and bigger transport drones, then taken by car near the air bases by Ukrainian 
agents, who were arrested, the security service said.

   A covert Ukrainian operation a year ago, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, 
destroyed or damaged nearly a third of Moscow's strategic bomber fleet with 
drones carried secretly into Russia, according to Ukrainian officials.